‘It was an innocent act!’ Lazio’s Luiz Felipe apologises to Inter Milan’s Joaquin Correa after jumping on former team-mate’s back to celebrate Serie A win… sparking a mass brawl and earning himself a red card before he left the field in tears
- Lazio beat Inter Milan 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night
- Their defender Luiz Felipe jumped on former team-mate Joaquin Correa’s back
- But his celebration sparked an angry reaction from his close friend
- To compound matters, Felipe was then sent off and left the field in tears
- He took to Instagram to apologise for his actions, admitting it was inappropriate
Lazio’s Luiz Felipe has apologised after jumping on the back of Inter Milan’s Joaquin Correa, a former team-mate, to celebrate his team’s win – sparking a brawl and earning himself a red card.
Correa, who is playing for Inter on loan from Lazio, reacted angrily to Felipe’s actions at the final whistle on Saturday despite the pair being close friends.
Players from both teams became embroiled in a melee to round off Lazio’s 3-1 win before the referee dismissed Felipe, who walked off the Stadio Olimpico pitch in tears.
Lazio’s Luiz Felipe jumped on the shoulders of Inter Milan’s Joaquin Correa to celebrate their 3-1 win at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night – but his actions sparked a mass brawl
Correa reacted angrily to his friend’s provocation and sparked a mass brawl
It was an unsavory end to the Serie A contest, which had seen Lazio fight back from behind
Felipe was shown a red card by referee Massimiliano Irrati and left the field in tears
Goals from Ciro Immobile, Felipe Anderson and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic turned the game around after Ivan Perisic’s early penalty.
Felipe subsequently posted several Instagram photos of him and Argentina international Correa together during their Lazio days, including in training and on social occasions, and issued a wordy apology to the man nicknamed ‘Tucu’.
Felipe responded by posting a series of pictures of him and close friend Correa on Instagram
‘I would like to comment on the negative effects regarding what happened today, at the end of the game,’ Brazilian Felipe wrote.
‘First of all, I want to clarify that I have great respect for Inter… We are all professionals, working to pursue our goals, and would never fail to respect another professional.
‘At the end of the game I jumped on Tucu’s shoulders because he is one of the great friends that football has given me.
‘Our families are friends and we have always been very close… I wanted to hug him and joke about the result, as far as our friendship allows, but I got excited.
Felipe issued a lengthy apology to Correa, saying his ‘innocent act’ had been misconstrued
Correa wasn’t too happy with his friend’s celebrations after Inter lost the Serie A match 3-1
‘Perhaps, in retrospect, it was not the best time or the most suitable place.
‘I apologise to anyone who felt offended and I did not try, in any way, to be disrespectful towards him, towards other athletes or towards Internazionale and its passionate fans. It was an innocent act, by a person who has a great affection for Tucu!!’
The win saw Lazio move fifth in the Serie A standings, just three points behind Inter in third. Napoli, with a perfect record of eight wins from eight, remain top, two points ahead of AC Milan.